


Nothing Like Lightspeed Skipping

by slightlytookish



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant, First Kiss, Force-Sensitive Finn (Star Wars), Getting Together, M/M, Misunderstandings, POV Multiple, Pining, Post-Canon, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:21:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22347874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlytookish/pseuds/slightlytookish
Summary: The First Order took a lot of things from Finn, and one of them was his birthday - he has no idea when it is. When Poe finds out he wants to do something to make it right, even if he's slowly realizing that Finn is keeping secrets from him. Because why communicate effectively when you can pine at each other?
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 20
Kudos: 223





	1. Finn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pers/gifts), [vix_spes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/gifts).



> For Pers and vix_spes for the prompt and for cheering me on as I wrote this <3

Poe first brought it up during their escape from the Sinta Glacier Colony.

"Hey, Finn," he said through the comm unit, not long after they burst through the ice wall. "Is it true what you said before?" 

He sounded troubled, but not as troubled as the Millennium Falcon did thanks to all the lightspeed skipping they were doing. The ship creaked and rattled in a way that didn't exactly inspire confidence in their odds, but every time they jumped into hyperspace they lost some of the TIE fighters, so Finn figured that had to count for something. 

They were skipping through hyperspace too quickly now for him to shoot effectively so Finn left the gunner's seat and hurried up to the cockpit. Klaud was standing in the doorway, apparently too terrified to go into the cockpit with the others and too frightened not to watch what was happening, and Finn had to squeeze past him before coming to a stop behind Poe's seat. "What?"

"What you said before," Poe repeated, his eyes never leaving the viewport. He jumped them into hyperspace again, and the Falcon responded with a jerk that almost knocked Finn off his feet. "Is it true?"

An ominous and persistent clunking sound started up from somewhere behind them. It sounded like it was coming from the direction of the engine room but Finn wasn't sure, so he sent R2-D2 to investigate and hopefully repair whatever it was before it got worse. He wasn't entirely sure what Poe was asking him about either, and tried to remember what they'd been talking about before the squadron of TIEs showed up. 

"About Chewie cheating at dejarik?" he said. "You know that's true!" Chewbacca roared in protest.

The Falcon jumped into hyperspace again and the clunking from the back of the ship grew louder. Finn thought they were passing over Coruscant now but he hardly got a glimpse of it before Poe skipped the Falcon into the next system. 

"No, about your birthday," Poe said. "You really don't know when it is?"

"You're still on that?" Finn said. Forget the TIEs; this was a topic he thought they'd moved on from hours ago, before they'd even left the base.

_"My dad's birthday is next month," Poe said as they climbed aboard the Falcon on their way to meet with Boolio. "I'd like to visit him, if things calm down enough for me to get away for a few days." He glanced at Finn as he went through the safety checks. "When's your birthday?"_

_Finn shook his head. "No idea."_

_"Come on, buddy, tell me," Poe said with a laugh. The grin slid off his face when Finn didn't answer. "Wait, you really don't know?"_

_"I never got a look at my file," Finn said, shrugging a shoulder. "It could be today, for all I know."_

_"Huh," was all that Poe said as he finished up the safety checks. Then they were taking off for Sinta Glacier, and soon after Chewie challenged them both to a game of dejarik, and that, Finn figured, was the end of it._

It wasn't the end of it, clearly, and he had no idea why Poe was bringing it up again now, in the middle of a chase, or why he was still thinking about it at all. It wasn't even something that Finn gave much thought to, most of the time. 

"Can't we talk about this later?" Finn said. "When we're not being followed? And shot at? And - hey, I think something's on fire."

Poe finally let the matter drop, but Finn suspected that had more to do with the smoke that was currently rushing down the main corridor than anything else. He sent Klaud to put out whatever it was that was burning, and held on tight as the Falcon skipped into hyperspace once more.

* * *

They made it to the base on Ajan Kloss in one piece - barely - but between the new intelligence Boolio had passed on to them and the urgent and extensive repairs that the Falcon needed, they didn't pick up the conversation again. The day that most likely wasn't Finn's birthday (even though there was always a chance that it was) faded into the next day, and the next and the next, until eventually he thought that Poe had forgotten all about it.

Finn had forgotten about it, too, by the time Poe found him loading supplies onto the Falcon for the mission to Pasaana. With BB-8 following swiftly at his heels, Poe stalked over, grabbed Finn by both shoulders, stared deep into his eyes, and said, "I don't like it."

"Uh." Finn was struck speechless, something that had been happening more and more often lately whenever Poe looked at him. Or touched him. Or spoke to him. Now he was doing all three, and Finn had to take a moment to remember how words worked. "You don't like how I stacked the crates?"

"What? No." Poe didn't even spare a glance at the supplies, he was so focused on Finn. To make matters worse, he was biting his lower lip like he was deep in thought. It took Finn so long to drag his eyes away from Poe's mouth that he was sure he'd be found out, and was tempted to throw himself headlong into the cargo hold in utter humiliation. Luckily, Poe didn't seem to notice him staring. "You really don't know when your birthday is?"

Oh. So that was what this was about. "I know the year I was born in, but not the day," Finn admitted. Like his family and his home, his birthday was another thing he couldn't remember about his life before he was taken away. "The First Order wasn't big on celebrating Stormtroopers' birthdays."

"They weren't big on giving you names either," Poe said. "But you have one now." 

"Thanks to you," Finn said, and damn if he didn't feel something warm settle in his chest every time he thought about that. 

"It's not right that they took your birthday away from you too," Poe said. He looked - furious, yes, but there was something else in his expression that Finn couldn't identify and didn't have enough time to work out before Poe barrelled on. "How would you like to choose a day? Then we can throw you a party." BB-8 gave a loud chirp and Poe patted him on the head, looking enthusiastic. "Good idea, buddy. What about today?"

"Today?" Finn yelped. "We're in the middle of a war. We're about to go on a mission."

"So? We have some time before the last of the repairs is complete. We can have a little celebration for you at the base before we leave for Pasaana."

"Poe, buddy. Look, I love-" _You_ , his mind helpfully supplied, but Finn quickly brushed that train of thought aside. He really would have to throw himself into the cargo hold if he let that slip. "I love how much you want to help and I appreciate the thought, but it's fine. I don't want a party."

BB-8 whistled questioningly. "Yeah, how come?" Poe asked.

"It's just-" Another thing that would make him stand out, another thing that would remind everyone that he was the ex-Stormtrooper without a name or a family or even a sense of where he came from in the galaxy. Or, apparently, a birthday. "It's fine. I don't think now is the best time for a party anyway." 

Poe was biting his lip again, but Finn forced himself to look into his eyes instead. "All right," he said at last, his shoulders slumping in disappointment. "But I still don't like it."

BB-8 let out a low, mournful whirring sound. When Finn glanced down, he saw that the little droid was giving him a thumbs-down with his lighter. "Enough of that, you," he said, and BB-8 retracted the lighter with an annoyed-sounding beep.

"I asked Rey about it," Poe said, suddenly refusing to meet his eyes. "Thought maybe she'd know your birthday."

"What, you thought the Force could tell her?" Finn asked doubtfully. He wondered if it could. There was so much of the Force that he didn't understand.

"No, I thought-" Poe glanced at him and then looked away so quickly that Finn almost missed the gesture. "Thought maybe you didn't want me to know for some reason."

Finn had no idea why Poe would think he'd want Rey to know his birthday and not him, but Poe suddenly looked so unhappy that Finn pulled him into a hug.

"You know I wouldn't keep something like that from you," he said, and determinedly refused to think about the things he really _was_ keeping from Poe, like his Force-sensitivity and the fact that he'd gone and fallen in love with him.

Finn could take a lot of things, but he knew he couldn't take it if Poe looked at him with disappointment in his eyes, or something even worse than that - fear, disgust, judgment. Kylo Ren used the Force to torture Poe, and Finn couldn't imagine that Poe would be too happy to hear that another of his friends was Force-sensitive. Finn was sure that was the reason why Poe had been glaring daggers at Rey recently, and he didn't know what he'd do if Poe started looking at him like that, too. 

And as for falling in love with him, well. Finn knew there was no hope in that. He was just Poe's buddy; there was no way that Poe would actually love him back. Not in the way Finn wanted, anyway, so it was better just to keep it to himself. At least his Force-sensitivity might help him to do some good in this war, if he ever figured out how it worked. Finn couldn't see how confessing his love to Poe would do anything but ruin one of his closest friendships. 

After a moment, Poe sighed and hugged him back. "Yeah, I know." He had his face pressed to Finn's shoulder so his words were muffled, but there was no hiding the obvious relief in his voice. When he pulled back, he was smiling.

"Guess I'll just have to throw you a party when we win the war," he said. 

BB-8 started beeping in delight as guilt settled like a stone in Finn's stomach, but he kept his secrets to himself.


	2. Poe

Things weren't great between him and Finn after Pasaana and they only got worse after Kijimi, and it was all Poe's fault. A man was allowed to have secrets - secrets that he couldn't bring himself to share with one of his best friends, apparently - and if Finn preferred to tell them to Rey, well, then Poe would just have to accept that. 

_"You know I wouldn't keep something like that from you,"_ Finn had promised him once. Poe snorted. So much for that. 

Well, a man was allowed to change his mind, too, and Poe supposed that Finn had changed his mind about him somewhere along the way. Whatever the reason for it, it must have happened before they crashed in the quicksand on Pasaana, when they all thought they were going to die and Finn thought it was the perfect moment to spill his guts to Rey, and no one else. And Poe just hadn't been able to let that go.

He knew for a fact that General Organa never would have kept trailing after someone - _a co-General_ \- constantly begging to be let in on the secret. Especially when Finn's big secret was probably a confession of his love for Rey and absolutely none of Poe's business - and nothing he wanted to hear, anyway.

But then Poe wasn't Leia, and Finn had been awfully quick to agree with that.

Still, he'd promised the man a party and Poe kept his promises. Even if Finn did not.

The thing was, they might have defeated the First Order and the Sith, but that didn't mean the war was over. Not all of the First Order ships had been on Exegol, and there were still pockets of enemy loyalists lurking throughout the galaxy. Ajan Kloss was as busy as ever, with Resistance fighters constantly coming and going on missions to root out the last of the First Order. The last mission Poe went on took him away from the base for over a month, and when he returned it was only to find that Finn wouldn't be back for another two weeks because he'd gone off on some mysterious mission with Rey to parts unknown.

Of course he had.

But now Finn was finally back and Poe was a lot of things, but he wasn't a coward. The war wasn't over but it was winding down, and it was time to talk to Finn. It was one thing to give someone a nickname and quite another thing to pick a birthday for him, and Poe didn't think he should be the one to make that choice and just spring it on Finn, especially not with the uncomfortable tension that had been building between them these past few months. He hoped that the topic of a birthday celebration would be a way to break the ice and make things go back to the way they were before, but they needed to discuss it first. 

And, as BB-8 reminded him, he and Finn were both between missions and both on the base; there was no excuse for Poe to avoid him now, even if he wanted to (and he kind of did). 

"Yes, I know I have to talk to him," he grumbled as the droid practically pushed him down the corridor in the direction of Finn's quarters. BB-8 let out a string of beeps and ran hard right into Poe's calves, causing him to wince and nearly stumble. "I'm going, I'm going! You never used to be this bossy."

BB-8 escorted him to Finn's door, and watched pointedly as Poe knocked. Finn opened the door so quickly that Poe wondered if he'd been waiting for someone else. Like Rey.

"Poe!" Well, at least Finn didn't look like he was disappointed to see him. He actually seemed… happy?

_Told you so_ , BB-8 chirped before spinning away. He never used to sound that smug, either.

"You're back!" Poe said as Finn ushered him inside. "I heard you and Rey went on a top secret mission."

"I don't know if I'd call it a mission," Finn said, suddenly looking evasive. Poe's heart sank. Here they were again, back to having more secrets between them. "Listen, I'm glad you're here. There's something I need to tell you about me. And Rey. And… something else."

_This is it_ , Poe thought. He'd always known this was going to happen, and he did his best to crack a smile. "Congratulations, buddy. When's the wedding?"

Finn looked at him as if he'd suddenly turned into a Gungan. "The _what_?"

Poe could feel his smile growing brittle around the edges but he kept it plastered to his face. "Wait, did it happen already? Was that the secret mission?"

"Poe," Finn said, still looking bewildered. "Do you - what are you thinking? That I'm in love with Rey or something?"

"Aren't you?"

"No!"

"But - that secret you'd only tell her-"

"Is definitely not that." Finn took a steadying breath like he was trying to work himself up to something. "I'm Force-sensitive."

"That's - that's-" The last thing Poe ever expected to hear. "That's amazing! _You're_ amazing!"

"It is?" Finn said, sounding unsure. "I am?" Then he grinned and said, "Well, it's like I've been telling everyone. I'm a big deal."

Poe had to laugh. "Hell yeah, you are. So what does this mean, are you a Jedi now?"

"Rey's training me," Finn said, not even trying to hide his excitement. "She wanted me to see the first Jedi Temple, so we just got back from Ahch-To. Nice place - quiet, lots of porgs. We started my training there. I just didn't think-" Here his smile faltered. "I didn't think you'd be happy about it."

"Are you kidding?" Poe said, genuinely baffled. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because of what happened with Ren…" Finn trailed off as if he was unsure whether he should finish that sentence. Poe was glad that he didn't. "I was afraid you'd hate me for it when you found out, and that's why I didn't want to tell you. The _only_ reason why."

"You're nothing like him," Poe said. "You could never be like him, and I trust you more than anyone. I always have. I-" _Love you_ , he wanted to say, and he nearly did. He almost confessed it right then and there, but he couldn't force the words past his throat. If BB-8 were there he'd run over Poe's toes in frustration, and Poe would absolutely deserve it. 

But his parents didn't raise a coward, and Poe told himself that revealing what was in his heart wasn't so different from lightspeed skipping. He saw an opportunity and he had to run with it, and he'd deal with the damage later. "So there's nothing between you and Rey?"

"Man, what's it going to take to convince you? No!" 

Poe was willing to bet that Finn was barely restraining himself from rolling his eyes. "What about you and me, then?"

Finn froze. "What do you mean, you and me?"

"You really don't know?" Poe bit his lip and hoped he wasn't making the biggest mistake of his life. "Come on, didn't you say you're Force-sensitive?" 

"That's not how the Force works," Finn was quick to say. But then he smiled, the kind of slow and radiant smile that lit up his entire face and always made Poe's heart skip a beat. 

It was the kind of smile that made him think he had a chance - that they had a chance, together. "So," he said hopefully. "You and me?"

Finn ducked his head, but he was still smiling. "Remember when I said I had two things I wanted to tell you?"

"And you didn't lead with that?" Poe demanded, but it didn't matter anymore because Finn was kissing him. Poe's world narrowed to the soft press of Finn's lips against his own and Finn's hands on his waist, pulling him closer. The first touch of Finn's tongue against his own made him go weak at the knees and clutch hard at Finn's shoulders, and his heartbeat was thudding in his ears as he kissed Finn back.

It was nothing like lightspeed skipping, he decided. He wasn't running away; he was coming home. 

"I came here to plan a birthday party for you," Poe said when the kiss finally ended. 

"Told you already, I don't need a party."

"But you're missing out on cake, presents…"

"I've got everything I need right here," Finn said, and of course that meant Poe had to reel him back in for another kiss.


End file.
